Growing Root Vegetables

Beets! We have 1.5 rows of Chioggia Beets and 1.5 rows of Golden Beets. When you get up close you can see the difference because the leaf veins are brightly colored.

Carrots! We have red, violet and orange varieties growing, there are 5 rows total. Weeds are a terrible nuisance, obviously, so I pulled for 2 weeks then laid some straw. It helps, but some giant weeds still grow up through the straw layer. And the backseat of my Prius is now covered in straw.

                                                     Red & Yellow Onions

Radishes! We are growing Daikon and Watermelon varieties. They'll be ready to harvest very soon. I'll harvest all the roots in the next month or two, then replant again for a second harvest in the Fall.

New Root Vegetable Bed

This was tough work. My much older Garden neighbors watched me turn this patch over for 4 hours. There were 4 of them. Two Ladies in lawn chairs drinking lemonades and smoking cigarettes, and 2 men taking turns with a tiller. They have 5 plots! When they were finally done tilling their plots (5,000 sq ft!) they came over with a tiller and offered to do mine! Everybody is very nice out here.

I added 2bags of sand and 2 bags of peat to make the soil super loose for the Root Veggies.

I got a massage a few days later.

There are about 15 rows in the Root Veg Garden. I marked them with wine corks and rocks.